Systems and methods for generating concatenated transport streams from adaptive media streams

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a method executable by an adaptive stream concatenation server to deliver a concatenated transport stream to a video distribution system are provided, as are embodiments of adaptive stream concatenation servers. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving an adaptive media stream containing television programming in an adaptive packet format at the adaptive stream concatenation server via a digital network. The contents of the adaptive media stream are concatenated by the adaptive stream concatenation server to create a concatenated transport stream containing the television programming in a streaming format different from the adaptive packet format and compatible with the video distribution system. The concatenated transport stream containing the television programming is then transmitted in the streaming format to the video distribution system.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/747,851, filed with the USPTO on Dec. 31, 2012, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to adaptive media streamsystems and, more particularly, relates to systems and methods whereinconcatenated transport streams for distribution to a number oftelevision receivers or other devices are generated from adaptive mediastreams received over a digital network.

BACKGROUND

Many service providers continue to utilize legacy video distributionsystems to transmit television programming content to relatively largenumbers of television receivers, such as set-top boxes located in theguest rooms of a resort or similar venue. The television programming maybe received as an aggregated transport stream at the service provider'sdistributor headend. The aggregated transport stream may be provided bya content aggregator, which produces the transport stream by bundling anumber of component streams containing the television programming. Ininstances wherein the service provider is remotely located relative tothe content aggregator, a privately-owned point-to-point connection,such as a fiber optic circuit, may be utilized to transmit theaggregated transport stream from the content aggregator to thedistributor headend. Leasing of such a privately-owned point-to-pointconnection can be costly and potentially cost prohibitive for smallerservice providers. In certain cases, it may be possible to bypass theprivately-owned point-to-point connection by wirelessly transmitting thetransport stream directly to the distributor headend utilizing asatellite link. However, this may not be possible or desirable in allinstances, such as when the distributor headend is located outside ofthe satellite footprint cast by the content provider or its affiliates.

Transport stream delivery architectures of the type described above arelimited in another respect, as well; such delivery architectures aretypically incompatible with emerging adaptive streaming technologies.During adaptive streaming, media content may be encoded into multiplesets of small segment files commonly referred to as “streamlets.” Thestreamlets are encoded to different parameters (e.g., different framerates, bit rates, resolutions, and the like) such that a particularterminal device can request a lower or higher bandwidth stream dependingupon the capabilities of the terminal device and resource allocation. Aschanges in network bandwidth or other factors occur, the terminal deviceis able to react to such changes by requesting future segments orstreamlets encoded in accordance with varying parameters therebyproviding a readily adaptable and highly reliable stream for viewing ofthe media content. The usage of such adaptive streaming techniques is,however, generally not possible in the case of legacy video distributionsystems without upgrading existing set-top boxes or other televisionreceivers to enable the installation of adaptive clients thereon, whichis typically cost prohibitive or otherwise impractical in many instanceswherein a large number of set-top boxes have already been deployed.

It is therefore desirable to provide systems and methods enabling thedelivery of a transport stream to the video distribution system of aservice provider without requiring the transmission of data overprivately-owned point-to-point connections, such as fiber opticcircuits, and without requiring upgrades in the existing equipmentutilized by the service provider. It would further be desirable for suchsystems and methods to utilize adaptive stream technologies in thegeneration of such transport streams to enable the efficient resourcemanagement of the distribution system and reliable media streaming,while also allowing media streams to be multicast to any number ofexisting television receivers. Finally, it would still further bedesirable to provide systems and method for generating concatenatedtransport streams from adaptive media streams received over a digitalnetwork wherein the concatenated transport stream can also betransmitted to legacy television receivers or other devices within ahome environment. These and other desirable features and characteristicswill become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and theappended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings andthis Background section.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of a method executable by an adaptive stream concatenationserver to deliver a concatenated transport stream to a videodistribution system are provided. In one embodiment, the method includesreceiving an adaptive media stream containing television programming inan adaptive packet format at the adaptive stream concatenation servervia a digital network. The contents of the adaptive media stream areconcatenated by the adaptive stream concatenation server to create aconcatenated transport stream containing the television programming in astreaming format different from the adaptive packet format andcompatible with the video distribution system. The concatenatedtransport stream containing the television programming is thentransmitted in the streaming format to the video distribution system.

In a further embodiment, the method is executable by an adaptive streamconcatenation server to deliver a concatenated transport stream to atelevision distribution system distributing a multi-channel televisioncontent or programming, such as cable television content, to a pluralityof television receivers. The method includes receiving a plurality ofadaptive media streams each containing different television channels inan adaptive packet format at the adaptive stream concatenation servervia a digital network The contents of the plurality of adaptive mediastreams are concatenated at the adaptive stream concatenation server tocreate a multicast Internet Protocol (“IP”) stream containing amulti-channel television programming in a streaming format differentfrom the adaptive packet format and compatible with the videodistribution system. The multicast IP stream containing themulti-channel television programming is then encrypted and transmittedin the streaming format to a headend distributor of the televisiondistribution system for distribution to the plurality of televisionreceivers.

Embodiments of an adaptive stream concatenation server are furtherprovided. The adaptive stream concatenation server provides televisionprogramming for distribution to a plurality of television receivers. Inone embodiment, the adaptive stream concatenation system comprises aninterface to a digital network and a processor coupled to the interface.The processor is configured to: (i) receive an adaptive media streamcontaining television programming in an adaptive packet format at theadaptive stream concatenation server via a digital network; (ii)concatenate the contents of the adaptive media stream by the adaptivestream concatenation server to create a concatenated transport streamcontaining the television programming in a streaming format differentfrom the adaptive packet format and compatible with the videodistribution system; and (iii) transmit the concatenated transportstream containing the television programming in the streaming format tothe video distribution system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction withthe following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote likeelements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary content delivery system,including an adaptive stream concatenation server, for generatingconcatenated transport streams from at least one adaptive media streamreceived over a digital network and transmitting the concatenatedtransport streams to the video distribution system of a serviceprovider; and

FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram showing an exemplary process that maybe carried-out by the content delivery system shown in FIG. 1 in thegeneration and transmission of concatenated transport streams to aremotely-located video distribution system.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figuresillustrate the general manner of system architecture and/or operationand may omit depiction, descriptions, and details of well-known featuresand techniques to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the exemplary andnon-limiting embodiments of the invention described in the subsequentDetailed Description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following Detailed Description of the invention is merely exemplaryin nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the applicationand uses of the invention. The following Detailed Description is merelyexemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or theapplication and uses of the invention. Any implementation describedherein as exemplary is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, there is nointention to be bound by any theory presented in the precedingBackground or the following Detailed Description.

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methodsenabling the delivery of encoded, segmented, and encrypted adaptivemedia streams to service providers utilizing legacy video deliverysystems. Embodiments of the system may be implemented, at least in part,as an Adaptive Stream Concatenation (“ASC”) server, which functionsessentially as a global network client for a number of legacy set-topboxes or other television receivers deployed by the service provider.The ASC server enables content delivery over an open Content DeliveryNetwork (“CDN”), the Internet, or another digital network whileinterfacing with existing network devices and television receiversserviced by the service provider. More specifically, embodiments of theASC server described herein can be utilized with existing or legacycable television (“TV”), Internet Protocol Television (“IPTV”), andsimilar delivery networks currently utilized by service providers.Utilizing the systems and methods described herein, televisionprogramming content can be provided to local markets or venues withoutrequiring leasing of a privately-owned fiber optic lines or otherpoint-to-point delivery means to reduce data transport costs.Additionally, the television programming content can be transmitted tothe content provider without requiring changes in hardware, such asupgrades the set-top boxes or other television receivers deployed by theservice provider. As a result, the service provider can avail itself ofthe benefits of adaptive streaming technologies even when deploying alegacy delivery system, such as an RF Quadrature Amplitude Modulation(“QAM”) or IP network, including set-top boxes or other terminal devicesincapable of functioning as individual adaptive clients.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a content delivery system 10, as illustrated inaccordance with an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment. Contentdelivery system 10 includes a legacy video delivery system 12, which isoperated by a service provider and which receives an aggregatedtransport stream 16 from a content aggregator 14 operated by oraffiliated with a content provider. In one embodiment, the contentdelivery system is a cable television system or other televisiondistribution system. The aggregated transport stream 16 comprises anumber of component streams, which are received from a number of contentsources 18 and combined into the aggregated transport stream 16 bycontent aggregator 14. In particular, each content source 18 may provideat least one encoded audio and video component stream to contentaggregator 14. The component streams contain television programming andmay collectively comprise a number of cable television channels of thetype conventionally-viewed utilizing a set-top box or similar televisionreceiver connected to a display.

After receiving the various component streams from content sources 18,content aggregator 14 combines the component streams with otherstreaming data, such as packet identification data, into the finalaggregated transport stream 16 utilizing a transport stream multiplexer.MPEG-2 transport stream format or any other standardized format may beemployed. Legacy video delivery system 12 then distributes theaggregated transport stream 16 to a number of television receivers 20.Television receivers 20 can assume the form of any terminal devicesuitable for receiving media content and providing appropriate outputvideo signals for viewing the media content on a suitable display. Thevideo output signals provided by television receivers 20 may beformatted in accordance with conventionally-known standards, such asS-video, High-Definition Multimedia. Interface (“HDMI”), Sony/PhilipsDisplay Interface Format (“SPDIF”), Digital Visual Interface (“DVI”), orIEEE 1394 standards. In one embodiment, television receivers 20 areset-top boxes, which may be distributed throughout the guest rooms of aresort or similar venue. In the illustrated example, content deliverysystem 10 includes three content sources 18(a)-(c) and three televisionreceivers 20(a)-(c); however, it will be appreciated that system 10 mayinclude any number of content sources 18 and television receivers 20 ina given implementation.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, content aggregator 14 may transmitthe aggregated transport stream 16 over a point-to-point connection,such as a privately-owned fiber optic circuit. As explained in theforegoing section entitled “BACKGROUND,” such a privately-ownedpoint-to-point connection must typically be leased, which can beundesirably costly and potentially cost prohibitive. In certain cases,it may be possible to bypass the privately-owned connection bywirelessly transmitting the transport stream to the distributor headendof video distribution system 12 utilizing a satellite link. However,this may not be always be possible or desirable in all instances, suchas when the service provider is a remotely-located resort and thedistributor headend is located outside of the content provider'ssatellite footprint. It may also be possible to avoid the usage of aprivately-owned connection by replacing existing legacy televisionreceivers 20 with more advanced receivers capable of directly receivingstreaming media content, such as multicast stream transmitted utilizingconventional Internet Protocols. However, this again may be undesirablycostly or otherwise impractical in many instances. Therefore, to enabledelivery of content without utilizing a point-to-point connection,content delivery system 10 further includes an Adaptive StreamConcatenation (“ASC”) server 22 able to communicate with content sources18 over a digital network 23 and/or a network server 24, which may storecontent provided by sources 18 in accordance with adaptive mediastreaming practices, as described more fully below.

The media content provided by content sources 18 may be delivered to oneor more adaptive encoders 26. For example, content sources 18(a)-(c) mayeach communicate with a different adaptive encoder 26(a)-(c), which eachgenerates a different adaptive stream consisting of the multiple sets ofsmall encoded segment files or “streamlets.” Each encoder 26 may be, forexample, a digital computer system programmed to create multiple streamseach representative of one or more particular media programs. In manycases, the streamlets are encoded such that segments of differentstreams can be interchanged to provide seamless playback even as networkconditions or other resources change. Alternatively, content sources18(a)-(c) may communicate with a single adaptive encoder 26(d), whichgenerates a single coded adaptive stream consisting of multiplecomponent streams. Any currently-known or later-developed packetizedformat can be utilized including MPEG, QUICKTIME, WINDOWS MEDIA, and/orother formats suitable for transmission over network 23. Severalexamples of adaptive streaming systems and techniques are described inUS Patent Publication No. 2008/0195743, filed Feb. 9, 2007, and entitled“APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR MULTI-BITRATE CONTENT STREAMING,” theentire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Digital network 23 can be any network over which one or more adaptivestreams can be received including, but not limited to, an open CDN, theInternet, or any other digital network based upon TCP/IP or otherconventional protocols. Network 23 as illustrated in FIG. 1, then, isintended to broadly encompass any digital communications network(s),systems, or architectures for transmitting data between the variouscomponents of system 10. Digital network 23 includes at least onenetwork server 24, which may store media content provided by encoders 26encoded to different parameters. During the below-described process,bi-directional communication may occur between ASC server 22 and networkserver 24 such that adaptive encoders 26 continually provide networkserver 24 with content containing the same video/audio segments, butencoded to different parameters; network server 24 saves such a libraryof content; and ASC server 22 requests packetized data encoded toparticular parameters from network server 24, as indicated in FIG. 1 bydouble headed arrows 28. Alternatively, ASC server 22 may transmitrequests for low, high, or intermediate bandwidth directly to encoders26 through network 24, as indicated in FIG. 1 by double headed arrows29. As further indicated in FIG. 1, any number of additional networkclients 36 may also be able to communicate with adaptive encoders26(a)-(d) and/or with network server 24 through digital network 23 toreceive adaptively streamed digital media content.

Encoders 26 thus each provide multiple multicast streams of at least onetelevision program or event having different encoding parameters, suchas a varying bit rate, frame rate, resolution, or the like. For example,each program may be simultaneously multicast as a high bandwidth stream,a low bandwidth stream and/or any number of intermediate bandwidthstreams. Client media players, such as network client 36, can thussimply select the program stream having the best set of parameters forcurrent playback conditions. For example, if significant lag inprogramming playback should occur, the media player can switch to alower bandwidth stream, such as a stream having lower bit rate, framerate, resolution and/or other parameters). Conversely, when conditionsare support a higher bandwidth stream, then the player can adaptivelyswitch to a different stream that contained the same programming encodedwith different parameters. As noted above, ASC server 22 may communicatewith network server 24, adaptive encoders 26(a)-(c) and/or encoder 26(d)by sending requests to vary encoding parameters (e.g., bit rates, framerates, resolutions, etc.) depending upon the current resources of server22, video distribution system 12, and/or television receivers 20.

ASC server 22 can be implemented utilizing any combination of hardware,software, firmware, and the like capable of executing the operationsdescribed herein. As shown in FIG. 1, ASC server 22 will typicallyinclude at least one controller 30 operatively coupled to a number ofvolatile and/or non-volatile memory elements (identified collectively as“memory 32” in FIG. 2) and any number of input and output terminals 34,including an interface to digital network 23. Controller 30 can includeany suitable number of individual microprocessors, microcontrollers,digital signal processors, programmed arrays, and other standardcomponents known in the art. Controller 30 may include or cooperate withany number of software or firmware programs designed to carry out thevarious methods, process tasks, calculations, and control/displayfunctions described herein. In many embodiments, controller 30 willexecute an operating system during operation of ASC server 22 to assistthe various programs executing on server 22 to access the hardwarefeatures thereof. Memory 32 will typically include a central processingunit register, a number of temporary storage areas, and a number ofpermanent storage areas. Memory 32 can also include one or more massstorage devices, such as magnetic hard disk drives, optical hard diskdrives, flash memory drives, and the like.

Embodiments of ASC server 22 can be utilized with current major adaptiveplatforms, such as Move Networks®, Apple Hypertext Transfer Protocol(“HTTP”) Life Streaming® (“HLS”), Microsoft Smooth Streaming®, and AdobeFlash®, as well as future adaptive platforms. In preferred embodiments,subscriptions are obtained for ASC server 22 to gain access to theplaylist files for multiple, simultaneously-received media streams and,specifically, the HTTP-delivered streamlets making-up the adaptivestreams for each channel. ASC server 22 then decrypts, concatenates, andencapsulates the transport stream in the below-described manner toprovide a concatenated transport stream, which is then transmitted tolegacy video distribution system 12, as indicated in FIG. 1 by arrow 38.The transport stream may comprise a cable TV signal made-up of a numberof TV channels, each received in an adaptive packetized form overdigital network 23. Transmission of the transport stream may beperformed utilizing any suitable wireless connection, hard line orcable, or combination thereof. Video distribution system 12 thendecrypts the media stream and distributes the digital media content totelevision receivers 20(a)-(c) in essentially the same manner as whenreceiving aggregated transport stream 16 over a point-to-pointconnection. The digital media content may assume the form of, forexample, RF signals transmitted through coaxial cable or pulsed signalstransmitted through fiber-optic cables. In this manner, legacy videodistribution system 12 provides media content (e.g., cable TVprogramming) to television receivers 20(a)-(c) without changes inequipment or system architecture of video distribution system 12 andreceivers 20, and while benefiting from improvements in reliability andresource management provided by adaptive streaming.

FIG. 2 is a message flow diagram showing an exemplary process 39 thatmay be carried-out by the content delivery system shown in FIG. 1 in thegeneration and transmission of a concatenated transport stream. Toinitiate process 39, at least one content source 18 broadcasts mediacontent as a number of components streams, including an audio stream anda video stream, to at least one adaptive encoder 26 (FUNCTION 40). Theadaptive encoder or encoders then encode the media content (FUNCTION 42)and, if desired, encrypts the content (FUNCTION 44) before forwardingthe encrypted content to network server 24 (FUNCTION 46). ASC server 22then transmits requests to network server 24 for the encoded content, asencoded to a particular set of parameters (FUNCTION 52). The requestsmay utilize conventional hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) constructs,which are readily routable on network 23 and which can be served byconventional CDN or other web-type server, such as network server 24shown in FIG. 1. In response to this request, network server 24 deliversthe encoded content, specifically the television programming, in anadaptive packet format of the type described above (FUNCTION 54).

Upon receipt of the adaptively-streamed digital media content, ASCserver 22 decrypts and processes the content (FUNCTIONS 56 and 58,respectively). As ASC server 22 processes the content, ASC server 22 maycontinually update its requests pertaining to the parameters to whichthe received content is encoded to provide the above-described adaptivefunctionality, as indicated in FIG. 2 by arrow 59. ASC server 22 furtheraggregates the streams (FUNCTION 60); and then creates a transitorystream (FUNCTION 62). More specifically, after decrypting the streamletsfor each channel, if necessary, ASC server 22 decrypts then concatenatesthe channel-specific, decrypted streamlets into a concatenated transportstream formatted as, for example, a MPEG2 transport stream. ASC server22 may then encapsulate the transport stream as, for example, amulticast IP stream in accordance with a predetermined standardizedprotocol, such as a User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”) or Real-timeTransport Protocol (“RTP”) schemes. ASC server 22 next encapsulates thetelevision programming, encrypts the encapsulated programming (ifdesired), and then distributes the programming to legacy videodistribution system 12 (FUNCTION 66). If radiofrequency (“RF”) deliveryis employed in an embodiment wherein video distribution system 12 is acable television system or other television distribution system, ASCserver 22 may also modulate the programming prior to transmission to thecable television headend associated with the television distributionsystem.

After receiving the transport stream from ASC server 22 (FUNCTION 66),distribution system 12 decrypts the concatenated transport stream(FUNCTION 68) and then provides the decrypted stream to televisionreceivers 20 (FUNCTION 70), which permit end users to view the mediacontent utilizing televisions or other displays connected to receivers20 in the typical manner (FUNCTION 72). As noted above, the concatenatedtransport stream preferably contains multi-channel televisionprogramming or content, and distribution system 12 can be any systemsuitable for distributing such content to a plurality of televisionreceivers or other devices. For example, the multi-channel televisionprogramming contained within the concatenated transport stream can bedistributed to the television receivers or the like by cable televisionsystems that commonly deliver programming via hybrid/co-axial fibercable networks, as well as by IPTV systems that commonly deliverprogramming content via fiber and/or twisted pair copper cable networks.It should be generally appreciated, then, that ASC server 22 can serveany system or network capable of distributing multi-channel televisionprogramming or content including cable television systems, IPTV systems,satellite systems, and wireless delivery networks, whether currentlyknown or later developed. Furthermore, while the media streams can beencrypted when transmitted from adaptive encoders 26 to network server24 and/or from network server 24 to adaptive stream concatenation server22, as described above, this need not always be the case; however, suchencryption may desirable to prevent unauthorized access to thetelevision programming, especially when the television programmingcontains premium content, such as premium cable television networks(e.g., HBO®) and/or pay-per-view movies and the like typically viewableas individual fee-based private telecasts.

The foregoing has thus provided systems and methods enabling thedelivery of a transport stream to a service provider utilizing a legacyvideo distribution system without requiring the usage of privately-ownedpoint-to-point connections, such as fiber optic circuits, and withoutrequiring changes in the existing equipment of the service provider. Thesystem is preferably implemented, at least in part, as an adaptivestream concatenation server, which can be utilized in conjunction withadaptive streaming delivery architectures used with existing or legacycable TV and IPTV system delivery networks deployed by serviceproviders. In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the adaptivestream concatenation server is configured to utilize adaptive streamtechnologies in the generation of such transport streams to reliably andconveniently manage available resources of the distribution system,while providing multicast media streams to any number of existingtelevision receivers. In this manner, the service provider can takeadvantage of the benefits of adaptive streaming technologies even whendeploying a legacy delivery system, such as an RF QAM or an IP network,including terminal devices that generally cannot be loaded with anadaptive client.

In one embodiment, the above-described adaptive stream concatenationserver is subscribed to the playlist files for multiple streamssimultaneously to gain access to the HTTP-delivered “streamlets” thatmake up the adaptive streams for each channel. For each televisionchannel, the server decrypts the streamlet segments and concatenate themas, for example, an MPEG2 Transport Stream. Stated differently, theadaptive stream concatenation server may concatenate the contents ofeach of the separate adaptive media streams into separate transportstreams. The adaptive stream concatenation server then encapsulates theMPEG Transport streams into multicast IP streams, such as UDP or RTPmulticast IP streams, which are easily routed to the service provider'sexisting headend solution. The encapsulated programming is thenencrypted, modulated in cases of RF delivery, and distributed to theexisting service provider's customer base thereby providing the reliabledistribution of television programming distribution without change inequipment or distribution system architecture of the service provider.The adaptive stream concatenation server thus enables adaptive deliveryof television programming to client devices (e.g., the televisionreceivers) of a service provider in a cost effective manner byleveraging the ability to stream media content over the Internet orother digital network.

In the above-described exemplary embodiments, the ASC server wasprimarily described as concatenating the contents of a number ofadaptive media streams to produce a concatenated transport streamprovided to a distribution network as part of a larger streamingservice; however, in further embodiments, ASC server may insteadconcatenate the contents of a number of adaptive streams to produce atransport concatenated stream, which is then distributed to one or morecomponents in a user's or subscriber's home environment. In this case,the ASC server may be implemented in hardware, software, and/or firmwareinstalled on a residential gateway device, such as a satellite receiver,deployed in a subscriber's home and serviced by a service provider. Sucha residential gateway device may already serve as the demarcation pointbetween the service provider's network and the subscriber's in-homenetwork to provide such functions as television tuning services anddistribution of those services throughout the home, video storageenabling whole-home access to Digital Video Recordings set-up by thesubscriber, accessing a high speed data network provided by the serviceprovider, routing traffic to the subscriber's devices, providing voiceservice demarcation for the home, and so on. In such embodiments, theservice provider may now also transmit a number of adaptive streamsthrough their distribution network to the home residential gatewaydevice functioning as the ASC server. As the server receives theseadapted media streams containing television programming in an adaptivepacket format, the ASC server concatenates the adaptive streams receivedto produce a concatenated transport stream containing a multi-channeltelevision content or programming, such as a cable television signal, inthe previously-described manner. The ASC server then provides theconcatenated transport stream of a video distribution system of sometype, which may assume the form of, for example, a wireless signaldistribution system (e.g., a wireless router included in thesubscriber's in-home or local area network) or a hard line distributionsystem (e.g., co-axial cable router). The video distribution system thenprovides the transport stream containing the multi-channel televisionprogramming to one or more devices within the user's home that might nototherwise be capable of receiving adaptive streams, such as one or morelegacy television sets or receivers located in one or more rooms of thesubscriber's home.

While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in theforegoing Detailed Description, it should be appreciated that a vastnumber of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that theexemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and arenot intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the foregoing Detailed Description willprovide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map forimplementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention. It beingunderstood that various changes may be made in the function andarrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set-forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method executable by an adaptive streamconcatenation server to deliver a concatenated transport stream to avideo distribution system, the method comprising: receiving first andsecond adaptive media streams containing television programming in anadaptive packet format at the adaptive stream concatenation server via adigital network, the first adaptive media stream containing at least afirst television channel, and the second adaptive media streamcontaining at least a second television channel; prior to or whilereceiving the first and second adaptive media streams, transmittingrequests over the digital network to vary encoding parameters andbandwidth of the first and second adaptive media streams in response tochanges in current system resources; concatenating contents of the firstadaptive media stream with the contents of the second adaptive mediastream at the adaptive stream concatenation server to create aconcatenated transport stream containing multi-channel televisionprogramming in a streaming format that is not an adaptive packet formatand that is compatible with the video distribution system; transmittingthe concatenated transport stream containing the television programmingin the streaming format to a headend of the video distribution system;and from the headend of the video distribution system, delivering thetelevision programming to a plurality of set-top boxes distributedthroughout guest rooms of a resort.
 2. The method of claim 1 whereintransmitting requests comprises transmitting the requests to vary theencoding parameters and bandwidth of the first and second adaptive mediastreams to a network server or to at least one adaptive encoder.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the television programming comprises aplurality of television channels, wherein the receiving comprisesreceiving a separate adaptive media stream for each of the plurality ofchannels, and wherein the concatenating comprises concatenating thecontents of each of the separate adaptive media streams into separatetransport streams.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the videodistribution system is a television distribution system and wherein thetransport stream is modulated for radio frequency (RF) delivery to acable television headend associated with the television distributionsystem.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising encrypting thetransport stream prior to transmitting the transport stream to the videodistribution system.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprisingsubscribing the adaptive stream concatenation server to a play list formultiple adaptive media streams.
 7. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising encapsulating the concatenated transport stream as amulticast Internet Protocol (“IP”) stream.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein transmitting comprises routing the multicast IP stream to aheadend distributor of the video distribution system.
 9. The method ofclaim 7 wherein multicast IP stream is encapsulated in accordance with aprotocol selected from the group consisting of User Datagram Protocol orReal-time Transport Protocol.
 10. The method of claim 1 whereintransmitting requests comprises transmitting requests over the digitalnetwork to vary one or more encoding parameters of the first and secondadaptive media streams selected from the group consisting of a bit rate,a frame rate, and a resolution.
 11. The method of claim 1 whereintransmitting requests comprises transmitting requests over the digitalnetwork to a network server storing a library of content comprisingvideo and audio segments encoded to different parameters by a pluralityof adaptive encoders, which communicate with the network server over thedigital network.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting requestscomprises transmitting requests over the digital network to at least oneadaptive encoder to provide the first and second adaptive media streamsencoded to have a selected one of a low, high, or intermediatebandwidth.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and secondtelevision channels are obtained from a content provider having asatellite footprint, and wherein the headend of the video distributionsystem is located outside of the satellite footprint.
 14. An adaptivestream concatenation server to provide television programming fordistribution to a plurality of television receivers by a videodistribution system, the adaptive stream concatenation systemcomprising: an interface to a digital network; a processor configuredto: receive a first adaptive media stream containing at least a firsttelevision channel in an adaptive packet format at the adaptive streamconcatenation server via a digital network; receive a second adaptivemedia stream containing at least a second television channel in anadaptive packet format at the adaptive stream concatenation server viathe digital network; prior to or while receiving the first and secondadaptive media streams, transmit requests over the digital network tovary encoding parameters and bandwidth of the first and second adaptivemedia streams in response to changes in current system resources;concatenate the contents of the first adaptive media stream withcontents of the second adaptive media stream at the adaptive streamconcatenation server to create a concatenated transport streamcontaining multi-channel television programming in a streaming formatthat is not an adaptive packet format and that is compatible with thevideo distribution system; and transmit the concatenated transportstream containing the television programming in the streaming format tothe video distribution system.
 15. The adaptive stream concatenationserver of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured tomodulate the transport stream for radio frequency (RF) delivery to acable television headend associated with the television distributionsystem.
 16. The adaptive stream concatenation server of claim 14 whereinthe processor is further configured to: encapsulate the concatenatedtransport stream as a multicast Internet Protocol (“IP”) stream; androute the multicast IP stream to a headend distributor of the videodistribution system.
 17. The adaptive stream concatenation server ofclaim 14 wherein the adaptive stream concatenation server is implementedin a residential gateway device located within a user's home, andwherein the processor is further configured to distribute theconcatenated transport stream to at least one television receiverlocated within the user's home.
 18. The adaptive stream concatenationserver of claim 17 wherein the residential gateway device comprises asatellite receiver.